The following is a list of notes that have been reported as "Missing". Some of the notes have been lost in the postal system between sender and receipient, others have been stolen. If some of your notes have been lost in transit or stolen please send the details the IBNS Webmaster - webmaster@ibns.biz to get them added to this list.

Origins of World Currency Names

ORIGINS OF WORLD CURRENCY NAMES

by IBNS member Omer Yalcinkaya of Istanbul, TurkeyLast updated: 11th April 2010

Omer has been collecting world bank notes for more than thirty years. He speaks nine languages and he is interested in linguistics and etymology in particular. He often wondered about the origins and the meanings of currency names and he decided to make this a research project.

As a result he came up with this list that contains the meanings of 215 currency names which covers more than 250 countries around the world.

Do you have a currency name that is not on the list? Contact Omer (omeryk@yahoo.com)He welcomes inquiries or additions to his list since it is the first of its kind.

Name ofCurrency

Country

Meaning

Afghani

Afghanistan

derived from country name: "that belongs to or that is from Afghanistan"

Agora / Agorot

Israel (coins)

Old Hebrew: אגורה - Agora. The name was suggested by the Academy of the Hebrew Language and was borrowed from Torah "agorat kessef" meaning "a piece of silver". >אגורות - Agorot is the plural form.

Akşa

Tuva (old)

In Tuvanian and in other Turkic languages: Akşa (pronounced as Aksha) means "Money". It was the currency of the People's Republic of Tuva from 1921 till 1944 when Tuva joined the USSR.

Angolar

Angola (old)

Portuguese: Angolar means "of Angola"

Anna

India, Burma, Pakistan (old coins)

Word is borrowed from Hindi word ānā which has the Sanskrit root aṇu - "small"

Ariary

Madagacar

17th century currency unit consisting of 720 Variraiventy, a piece of silver equal to the weight of a rice grain. Ariary system is a nondecimal one which is divided into 5 Iraimbilaja

At

Laos (coins)

derived from Thai At, a former coin worth one-eighth of a Füang

Auksinas

Lithuania (old)

derived from Auksas: "gold" in Lithuanian (with special thanks to Audrius from Lithuania)

Aurar

Iceland (coins)

Plural of Eyrir from Old Norse "money", probably from Latin Aurum "gold"

Austral

Argentina

Latin: "Australis" - coming from the South, Southern, "Auster" - the South wind

Avo

Macao (coins)

Portuguese shortened from Oitavo "eighth" from Latin Octvus "eighth"

Baht

Thailand

Thai: บาท - Baht is a weight unit of 15 grams - Upto 1940's the currency of Thailand was Tical which was 15 grams of silver

German: Notgeld is "emergency money" issued in Germany and Austria during economic crises. Although it is neither a currency unit nor legal tender, notgeld is still a specialised category in bank note collecting.

øre / Öre

Sweden, Denmark, Norway (coins)

from Old Norse Eyrir "gold coin" which comes from Latin Aureus "gold coin" from Aurum "gold"

Ostmark

German controlled Eastern Europe

German: Ostmark is literally "East Mark". The German Dahrlenskassen issued this currency in 1918 to be used in the German controlled Eastern Europe at that time. Later GDR Mark was colloqually called Ostmark.

Ouguiya

Mauritania

a native word in Mauritania, Ouguiya system is nondecimal which is divided into 5 Khoums

Pa'anga

Tonga

Tongan: "Bean shaped pieces"

Pahlavi

Iran

Belonging or related to the Pahlavi Dynasty in Iran

Paisa

India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh (coins)

derived from Sanskrit word Padamsah which means a "quarter"

Pang

China (antique)

Chinese 朋 - Pang is an antique unit equal to about 10 cypraea shells. Cypraea shells formed the base of the Chinese Moneraty System. (with special thanks to Fung Nai Chuen - moneyissuer from Hong Kong)

Papiermark

Germany

Literally "paper mark" in German. As a result of hyperinflation after WWI Mark became worthless and was called Papiermark. In 1923 Rentenmark was introduced at the exchange rate of 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) Marks.

Hungarian: Pengő - meaning "twang". Probably derived from the sound of a coin when thrown.

Pennia

Finland (coins)

derived from the German "Pfennig"

Penny

England

In Old English it was Penig which was derived from Pfenning which means "coin" in Old High German

Perper

Montenegro

Derives from a 21 carat gold coin minted by the Byzantine Emperor Alexis I in 1092. The coin was called in Greek Hyperpyron meaning "Highly refined" whereas in Latin Perperum (with special thanks to Philippe Simon from France)

Peseta

Spain

diminutive of Peso

Pesewa

Ghana (coins)

In Akan (a native language of Ghana) Pésewabo is a seed of a plant, formerly used as the smallest gold weight

Peso

Many Spanish speaking countries

Spanish: "Weight"

Peso Oro

Dominican Republic, Paraguay

Spanish: "Gold Peso"

Pfennig / Pfennigs

Germany

derived from Pfenning which means "coin" in Old High German

Pfeniga

Bosnia and Herzegovina

derived from the German "Pfennig"

Piaster / Piastre

Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria

derived from Italian Piastra "thin metal plate"

Poisha

Bangladesh (coins)

In Bengali Poisha is a "quarter" which is derived from the Hindi "Paisa"

Pound Sterling

England and many other countries

Old English: "Pund" from Latin word: "Pondus" - Weight; Sterling is drived from old English word "Steorra" - Star, referring to a small star on early Norman pennies

Pruta / Prutah

Israel (coins)

Hebrew פרוטה - Pruta means a "coin of small value".

Pul

Afghanistan (coins)

from Persian word Pul which means "money"

Pula

Botswana

In Setswana (the language of Botswana) Pula means "Rain"

Punt

Ireland

Irish Gaelic: Pound

Qepiq

Azerbaijan (coins)

Derived from Russian "Kopeika"

Qindarka

Albania (coins)

In Albanian Qint / Qind (pronounced as chint) is a hundred and Qindarka is "one hundredth"

Quetzal

Guatemala

Spanish: a kind of bird; zool: Pharomachrus mocinno

Rand

South Africa

Named after Witwatersrand a region of northeast South Africa where the richest gold-mining areas in the world are located

Real

Brazil

Portuguese: 1) Royal, 2)Actual, 3)Real

Reichsmark

Germany

German: Reich is literally "realm" or "empire". Reichsmark was the official currrency of Germany from 1924 until 1948.

Bank notes issued by the Rentenbank (Annuity Bank) were called Rentenmark. It was an interim currency introduced to stop the hyperinflation in 1923. In 1924 Reichsmark succeeded Rentenmark.

Rial

Iran, Oman

Persian ريال - Rial is a cognate of the Arabic "Riyal" which is derived from the Spanish word "Real"

Riel

Cambodia

In Khmer language Riel means "the one that shines, shinny"

Riffan

Riff Republic (present Morocco)

Derived from the name of the self-proclaimed state Riff Republic in 1921. The word originates from Arabic الريف - er-Rif meaning "countryside".

Rigsdaler

Denmark (old)

Danish: Rigsdaler - "Thaler of the realm" The currrency of Denmark until 1873 which was divided into 96 Skilling.

Riksdaler

Sweden, Norway (old)

Norwegian/Swedish: Riksdaler - "Thaler of the realm". The currrency of Sweden until 1873 which was divided into 48 Skillingar. Riksdaler courant in Norway was used until 1813 and was divided into 96 Skilling.

Ringgit

Malaysia, Brunei

In Malay Ringgit means "jagged" and was origianally used to refer to the serrated edges of the Spanish silver coins widely used in the area.

Italian: Scudo, like Escudo, is also derived from Latin Scutum - "shield". So called because the coins had a shield bearing a coat of arms. Scudo was the currency of the Papal States until 1866 and was divided into 100 Baiocchi.

Sen

Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Japan, Cambodia

derived from "Cent"

Sene

Western Samoa

derived from "Cent"

Seniti

Tonga (coins)

derived from "Cent"

Senti

Estonia (coins)

derived from "Cent"

Shahi

Iran, Afghanistan, India (old)

In Persian, Shahi means that belongs to or related to the "Shah" - King. So the word may be interpreted as "Royal". Also in ancient India and Afghanistan there were rulers called Shahi.

Shahiv

Ukraine

Ukrainian шагiв - Shahiv is the plural form of Shah which was originally a silver coin egual to 3 grosz in the Polish-Lithuanian Union in 17th-18th centuries. Shahiv money stamps were used in the Ukrainian People's Republic.

Shekel / Sheqel

Israel

Hebrew: שקל - Shekel literally means "weight" and was used as a unit of weight of around 12 grams. Plural form is Sheqalim.

Shilling

UK (old), Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania etc

from the Old English and Old High German verb "Scilling" - "to divide"

Skilling

Sweden, Norway (old)

Swedish and Norwegian cognate of the Shilling

Sol

Peru

Sol stays for Sun, meaning the "God of Sun" the principal god for Inca culture (with special thanks to Massimo Accordi)

Soldo

Italy (old coins)

Derived from Latin Solidus. Plural form is Soldi.

Solidus

Ancient Rome

In Latin "nummus solidus" means "solid coin". The coin was originally gold therefore it was "solid". The English word "soldier" derives from this word as they were paid with such coins.

Som

Kyrghyzstan

Kyrghyz: "Pure" (gold)

Somoni

Tajikistan

named in the honour of Ismoil Somoni (849-907) - the founder of the first Samanid (Tajik) State

Sou / Sol until 1715

France

Sou is a derivation of Sol which is derived from the Latin Solidus. Sou is a slang word for "money" in French today.

Speciedaler

Norway (old)

Speciedaler was the currency of Norway from 1816 till 1875. It was divided into 120 Skilling. Krona replaced Speciedaler when Norway joined the Scandinavian Monetary Union in 1875.

Srang

Tibet

Srang, pronounced as sung in Tibet language, is a unit of weight equal to Chinese Liang about 37.50 grams (with special thanks to Phub from Bhutan)

Stotinki

Bulgaria (coins)

derived from the Slavic word Sto a "hundred" meaning "hundredth"

Stotin

Slovenia (coins)

derived from the Slavic word Sto a "hundred" meaning "hundredth"

Sucre

Equador

Antonio Jose de Sucre - South American liberator who revolted against Spain, first president of Bolivia (1795-1830)

Sueldo

Spain (old coins)

Derived from Latin Solidus. Also means "salary" in today's Spanish.

Sum / Som

Uzbekistan

pronounced as Som - Uzbek: "Pure" (gold)

Tael

China (old)

Chinese: 兩 - Liyang - a unit of weight equal to 40 grams (of silver). Today the unit is still used for weight measuring. In China it means 50 grams, whereas im Hong Kong 37.429 grams. The English word Tael originates from Malay tahil meaning "grain" which has its root in Arabic dahl - "grain".

Taka

Bangladesh

Bengali word Taka comes from Sanskrit word Tankah.

Tala

Western Samoa

derived from English "Dollar"

Tallero

Eritrea (old)

Derived from German Thaler. It was the currency unit in Eritrea from 1890 till 1921.

Chinese: 文 - Wen means "cash". This unit is shown in the catalogs as Cash. The Wen notes are the first officially circulating banknotes in the world dating as back 960 A.D. In 1889 Yuan was introduced at the rate of 1000 Wen.

Whan

Korea (old)

Korean: 圜 - Whan was equal to 5 Yang later became Won.

Won

Korea

Korean: 원 or 전 - Won (pronounced like on) derived from Chinese 元 Yuan

Xu

Vietnam

Xu is derived from the French Sou

Yang

Korea (old)

Korean: 兩 - Yang is the cognate of Chinese 兩 - Liyang. Yang was the currency unit of Korea between 1892-1902.

Yen

Japan

Japanese: 円 - Yen - from Chinese 元 Yuan

Yuan

China

Chinese: 元 or 圆 - Yuan: literally "a round object"

Zaire

Congo Democratic Republic, Zaire

The word Zaire is derived from the Kikongo (an ethnic language in Congo) word nzere meaning "river". It refers to Congo River where the country takes its name. Congo originally means a "hunter".